Friday, May 9, 2014

All you need is .... LBC post

Well - I have nobody to blame but myself for this topic.  No - it was not chosen because of the Beatle's tune -
All you need is  some common sense, hard work, perseverance  and maybe a little luck (or synchronicity if you prefer to have a reasonably happy life.. Now some of you may say you need guidance from above in the form of your god.  OK - that's your choice.

Now having a dream to pursue is certainly nice - and it often helps.  If you are passionate about something and you figure a way to make a living doing that then you have pretty much won the game of life.  But resilience is required as well since often passion does not translate into performance success.  A prime example is me - as a boy like many American kids I was passionate about baseball.  I lived, breathed and died baseball.  If you've seen the movie The Sandlot you know what my summers were like.


Unfortunately, I was built for football  and although I was the hardest thrower in town I never got passed that - being a thrower.  I was called a pitcher but that was simply what the position is called. I never managed to combine the skill set needed to be a successful pitcher at the levels I desired.  Football was a different story altogether. I had that skill set. But I never developed the passion. .

As far as education goes, school always came pretty easy for me - good grades were never difficult (until I hit Calculus). But I confess playing as the dumb jock quite a bit.  That was due to extreme shyness. But the dumb jock stereotype was a safe place to hide. Until a college professor assumed I was truely a dumb jock - as he assumed all were.  See - he had been approached by the football coach  to get a pass for a couple of his players (no - I was not one of them). On the day of the final in his class, Dr Hudson (name not changed to expose the guilty handed me my test and said "I guarantee you will not pas this test Mr McConvey".   Three days later when I visited his office to check on my grade and pick up my test, he simply glared at me and threw the bluebook in my general direction. I'd aced it and in fact gotten the 2nd highest grade in the class and an A for the quarter.  That led me to obtaining a degree in Political Science.  A degree that has value only in the sense that I actually have a degree. And if ever there was an oxymoron, it is Political Science.

Alas I never developed a passion for earning money.  That too came pretty easy - in the sense I always made enough to get what I wanted/needed. I discovered I could sell ice boxes to eskimos.  Unfortunately I hated the weather.  So I got into the electronics industry.

So what's the point to all of this?  Common sense, hard work and perseverance have served me will in life.  I'm not rich nor am I destitute.  I have some wonderful friends I have known for most of my life.  Friends that got me on a path that allowed me to live this life and not waste it.  I have friends all over the world thanks to the wonder that is the Internet. Don't q quit on yourself.  My passions? Well my mind is a steel trap for useless information - trivia - and I was a great Trivial Pursuit partner. .  And of course music.  That's pretty evident from my blogs.  They can be mini concerts.



But I'm still searching.  After all - if you find it what's the point of living? What's left? The journey continues.





3 comments:

  1. A touching approach to a difficult topic Shackman and I compliment you on a heart felt approach to writing this piece. I have always maintained that I became whatever I became because I was in the right place at the right time and things just kept happening. It is my conviction that life's purpose is to find a purpose and that is never ending unless you learn to just let it all flow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm with you on 'common sense, hard work & perseverance'. The visit to Doctor Hudson's office also rings bells with me. In my case it was a nun who assured me that I would fail my final state examination. My results turned out be better then either of us expected, and way better that the brain of the year who was expected to sweep the boards. So my perseverance was worth it. In the last sixteen I have learned to plough my own furrow and I no longer depend on other people, The louder they shout about being friends or wanting to help, the sooner the melt away like snow off a ditch, when you need them most.

    ReplyDelete
  3. One of my favorite types of books to read is an autobiography. Or any biography for that matter. I love seeing what other people are able to accomplish with their lives. It inspires me that I can do more with, as you said, a little perserverance and hard work.

    ReplyDelete